Narnia: Prince Caspian with a Twist
by ThePeacockFeather
Summary: Sequel to The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe with a Twist. The Pevensies return to Narnia 1 year later and find out that 1300 years have passed in Narnia. The Tellmarines plot to take over Narnia with the evil Lord Miraz who is out to kill his own nephew. Prince Caspian must find his place with the Narnians and fight for his kingdom with the help of the Pevensies and Penthesilea.
1. Chapter 1: Susan's Horn

**Narnia: Prince Caspian with a Twist**

**A/N: I'm back! Thanks to all my reviewers, I have decided to make a sequel! Here's chapter one of Prince Caspian with a Twist but first…**

**Disclaimers: I don't own anything! Just Penthesilea!**

Chapter One:

The earth's shadow covered the moon on the day the Lady Prunaprismia gave birth.

She screamed in agony as the midwives eased the baby out of its mother. Then the sound of a child crying relaxed her.

The midwives handed her the baby boy.

The new mother breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in her bed.

Moments later…

A heavy door opened and Glozelle, a tall man with a dark beard walked to a shorter man who was staring out the window into the night sky.

"Lord Miraz, you have a son," he said flatly.

Lord Miraz sighed. "The Heavens have blessed us…" He looked to the sky. "You know your orders… General Glozelle."

Glozelle was quiet for a moment. "Yes, my Lord," he said finally and left the room.

A Tellmarine soldier paced to hallways as Glozelle walked away.

A cloaked figure quietly sneaked passed him and headed to the prince's room. He entered the room.

It was dark except for the pale moon light that shine through the windows. A raven sat on a perch and cawed quietly and ruffled its feathers as the figure came in.

The man with the cloak moved across the room to the prince's bed in silence, pulled away the drapery and cupped his hands around the prince's mouth.

Caspian woke with a start but could not cry out. When he realized that the cloaked figure was just his tutor, he relaxed and pulled the old man's hand away. "Five more minutes," Caspian said and turned away, trying to go back to sleep.

"You won't be watching the stars tonight, my prince!" the professor said in an urgent tone. His wise eyes were widened with fear. "Come, we must hurry!" he urged.

Caspian turned back around at the odd tone of his tutor's voice and got out of bed, confused. "Professor, what's going on?"

The old man pulled Caspian to a wardrobe by his wrist. "Your aunt has given birth… to a _son._" He emphasized that last word and threw the doors of the wardrobe open.

Caspian froze in shock and tried to understand what was happening. He heard soldiers outside the door of his room.

"Come!" the Professor called, leading the way into a secret door on the other side of the wardrobe.

Caspian quickly climbed in and closed the door leaving a small crack to look through.

The soldiers entered and surrounded his bed quietly. They then began to shoot into the draperies.

The raven squawked and flapped its wings as the soldier shot arrows into the bed of their own prince.

The arrows tore the curtains up and Glozelle saw that Caspian was gone. He cursed under his breath.

Caspian looked back as he followed his professor down winding stairs. They ended up in the stable area.

The professor made him take armor, a sword and a dark cape that would be hard to spot at night.

Caspian threw himself on a black horse and looked down at his tutor.

"You must make for the woods!" the professor told him.

"The woods?"

"They won't follow you there," the professor explained and handed his student a smooth, shiny horn. "It has taken me many years to find this…"

Caspian could barely make out the head of a lion at the mouth of the horn in the dim light. He quickly tucked it into his clothes, knowing that his professor would not have the time to explain what it really was.

"Do not use it except at your greatest need!" warned the tutor.

Caspian grabbed the reins of his horse and looked down at the old man. "Will I ever see you again?"

The tutor gave the prince a sad look. "I dearly hope so, my prince… there is so much more I meant to tell you."

Caspian felt a pain of guilt rush through him. He had never really listened to the man when he taught and now they might never see each other again.

The tutor gave him a serious look. "Everything you know is about to change."

They heard the sound of soldiers shouting and stomping down the stairway he and his teacher had just come down.

"Now go!" the tutor shouted, slapping the horse.

Caspian nervously rode out into the courtyard of the medieval castle.

Soldiers were patrolling in the yard when they saw Caspian. "Halt!" one of them shouted, but the prince rode right past them, knocking one over.

Caspian made it out of the gates of the castle and his horse trotted across the bridge that led into the town. He stopped in the empty streets and looked back at his home.

Fireworks shot into the sky dark eerie night.

In the distance, Caspian could hear a crier shouting in bliss, "A son! A son! Prunaprismia has given Lord Miraz and _son_!" He emphasized the last word as Caspian's tutor had.

Tellmarine soldiers began to ride out of the castle and after Caspian.

The prince urged his horse to a gallop and soon rode out of the village and to the wild countryside.

The soldier followed from a distance. Their helmets bobbed up and down as their horses galloped.

Caspian could see the woods ahead and kicked his horse in the side to make it go faster. At last he made it to the brush and felt a bit relieved. He rode deeper into the woods, attempting to put as much distance between him and the soldiers as he could.

Glozelle and his men came to the woods. The General charged straight into the forest but the others hesitated. Glozelle turned to his men and threatened in a gruff voice, "Which of you superstitious old women would like to spend the night in a cell?"

The soldiers didn't say anything.

Glozelle glared at them and rode into the woods in pursue of Caspian.

The men, who didn't want to anger their chief, rode in after him.

Caspian had made it deeper into the woods. He could not see much in the dark but was aware of the sound of hoof beats far behind him.

The soldiers were still following him and Caspian kept fleeing and soon made it out of the woods and to a small river.

He rode his horse right into the water, eager to make it to the other side.

Water splashed on him and his horse neighed in protest.

Caspian grew frustrated and looked over his shoulder to see if he had lost his pursuers.

The soldiers had followed the Prince out of the woods and to the river. They rode into the water as Caspian did.

It was obviously a bad idea to have this many horses so close together, stumbling through a river.

One of the horses in the front tripped rough river bottom and fell sideways. The other horses and their riders tripped over the first and toppled into the river as well.

Caspian was glad that he got some extra time to get away from the soldiers after their swim in the river. The prince had entered the woods again. He was feeling pretty proud of himself at the moment and turned to look back to make sure they were far behind him. When he turned around, a large branch hung in his path.

Too late- _thwack_!

Caspian slammed right into the branch and was knocked off his horse and dragged. He struggled to free his feet from the stirrup.

His horse kept running completely unaware that its rider was being dragged against the cold and prickly forest floor.

Caspian managed to finally get his feet out of the stirrup and friction stopped him.

His steed ran deeper into the woods and disappeared.

The prince laid there in the dark, sore from the ride and groaned. He was glad that no one was there to see that humiliating moment when the branch had smacked him in the forehead. But here he was now, in the middle of nowhere, alone, tired and he probably didn't look much like a prince at this second. Caspian sat up and panted. He observed his surroundings and tried to figure out which way was north. He looked for the stars but the trees were so thick above him that he couldn't see anything.

One would consider Caspian handsome but he didn't look very attractive now. His dark hair was messy from the ride and his face didn't look much better. Dust had flown onto the prince's face and stuck there with the sweat that had gathered.

He thought about getting up and finding help but who would live out here? _Narnians might… _he thought, remembering the stories his tutor had told him which was probably the only thing he paid attention to. _It's only superstition._ He reassured himself.

Right as he thought that, a door opened in the trunk of a tree.

Caspian jumped. His eyes had adjusted to the dark and he could make out two unnaturally short men in the doorway.

"He's seen us!" cried one of the dwarves with a bald head and a long orange beard. He drew a sword and hobbled toward Caspian on his stubby legs.

Caspian panicked. He looked around frantically searching for something to defend himself with. His sword lay a few feet away but it was obviously too far to reach. He scooted back, knowing that he couldn't run.

The dwarf closed in on the prince. He suddenly hesitated when he saw Caspian's face. He studied it closely.

Caspian's eyes were wide and alert.

Something caught the dwarf's attention.

The horn that the tutor had given Caspian was on the ground, within reach of Caspian.

The dwarf looked from the horn to Caspian. He suddenly didn't seem to be interested in killing the prince now.

His partner, a dwarf with a black beard widened his eyes in disbelief.

Horses neighed in the distance and Caspian panicked again. The soldiers were still on his trail.

The dwarf with the orange beard turned to his friend. "Take care of him!" he spoke in a gruff voice and began to charge the soldiers who were in sight now.

The second dwarf stepped toward Caspian.

Caspian thought fast. He grabbed the horn from the ground beside him.

"No!" shouted the dwarf with the black beard.

But it was too late.

Caspian blew the horn.

* * *

When Penthesilea heard the horn, she was tracking the White Stag into the Western Woods. She got up from tracing hoof prints and looked into the night sky.

She hasn't heard that horn in over a millennium. But she recognized it immediately.

The horn had only sounded for not even two seconds before it was cut off abruptly.

Penthesilea knew it was the horn of Queen Susan.

It had been centuries since she got the news of the Kings' and Queens' disappearance. They were said to have vanished in the Lantern Waste while hunting the White Stag, the very creature Penthesilea was tracking right now.

Penthesilea had talked with Aslan after the news was spread.

_Flashback…_

_Penthesilea cautiously glided gracefully through the secret grove. _

_Aslan was the only one she could talk to about this._

_When she neared the Great Lion, Penthesilea could feel his presence. She broke into a run and soon reached the center of the glade._

_Dragonflies flew pleasantly around the green ferns and the small clear spring that flowed water as pure as the white sands on the beach of Cair Paravel. Beams of light broke through the loosely packed leaves of the cherry blossom trees._

_On a large boulder by the spring was Aslan himself. The lion looked surprised to see Penthesilea there. _

_Penthesilea bowed in respect to him._

_"What bring you here, child?" Aslan had a powerful yet gentle voice as if he was letting Penthesilea know that everything was going to be alright._

_Penthesilea got up and spoke, "Lucy, Susan, Edmund and Peter are gone, Aslan. What do we do now?"_

_Aslan seemed absolutely relaxed at Penthesilea's whining tone. "You should know where they went, Penthesilea. Back to their world." He gave her a small look of disapproval. "You did not expect them to stay forever did you?"_

_Penthesilea winced at how selfish that sounded. "I… I thought they loved it here…"_

_Aslan's expression turned gentle again. "They do. But things never happen the same way twice. They have left this world but that does not mean that they don't like it here. You must understand that their world is where they truly belong."_

_Penthesilea grew quiet, taking in Aslan's wise words. "They… are not coming back then?"_

_"Someday, dear one," Aslan replied with a smile. "Someday…"_

_Penthesilea sighed and tried to stay strong and hard core._

_Aslan nodded his head in satisfaction. Then he was gone._

_End of flashback._

Penthesilea closed her golden eyes and breathed in the cool nighttime air.

The leaves of nearby trees rustled in the wind.

Penthesilea opened her eyes and focused to the east. She remembered the attack on Cair Paravel made by the Tellmarines not long after the Kings and Queens left.

Aslan had told her not to interfere for "the intertwining strings of Fate may guide this tragedy into a blessing."

The sound of the horn rang in Penthesilea's ears still. It came from the beyond the Western Wild.

The horn was the only item from the Kings and Queens that was not placed in special chest for it was never found after the day the Pevensies left Narnia.

Now someone had it and was blowing it.

Penthesilea had a seen vision centuries ago after the Tellmarines invaded, that the Pevensies would come back to the sound of Queen Susan's horn.

Could it be…?

Penthesilea shot up from the ground and sprinted off through the woods toward Cair Paravel.

* * *

The driver of a small black automobile slammed down on his breaks so hard that a screeching sound was heard. "Watch where you're going!" he spatted angrily at the young girl whom he almost hit.

"I'm sorry!" the young lady apologized and quickly rushed across the street and out of the way of any other cars that might threaten to run her over.

London was noisy and busy that morning as Lucy Pevensie hurried to find her sister, Susan. Lucy was wearing her school uniform as she always did to school, a white collared shirt, a yellow and black tie, a formal looking red coat and a gray skirt. The sun beat down on her as she ran through the streets.

* * *

Susan Pevensie was standing by a newspaper stand, reading a magazine.

A tall, geeky looking boy walked up and stood beside her. He wore glasses and He put down his stuff and looked in Susan's direction. After a short silence, he opened his mouth a said, "You go to St. Finbars."

Susan looked up from her magazine briefly. "That's right," she muttered and turned back to her reading material.

"I go to Hendon House, across the road," the boy continued hesitantly.

Susan tried to smile friendly but didn't look up from the magazine.

"I've seen you… sitting by yourself."

Susan blinked a little embarrassed. "Yes well, I prefer to be left alone," she said matter-of-factly. Susan was quite proud of herself for thinking of that response. She turned away from the boy and hoped that he would just go away.

"Me too," the boy said childishly.

It took all of Susan's will power to not roll her eyes.

"What's your name?"

Susan thought about screaming and taking off down the street but she doubted that she could outrun this boy while wearing the uncomfortable school shoes she had on. Instead she again tried to smile angelically. "Penthesilea," she answered the boy, remembering the name of a very faraway friend.

"Susan!" Lucy shouted to her sister while pushing her way through the crowd of people. The younger girl ran up to her older sister. "You'd better come quickly!"

The boy whom had asked Susan her name had a very perplexed look on his face.

Susan felt quite stupid to have let Lucy blow her cover. She glanced at the boy, threw her magazine back in its place on the stand, picked up her briefcase and hurried after Lucy who had already ran halfway across the road.

The sisters cautiously ran past the cars that honked at them and shoved their way into the subway station.

A statue of a lion stood outside of the station overlooking the streets of England.

* * *

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" chanted the mob of children in the station, all of them wearing school uniforms and eager to see some violence.

Susan and Lucy managed to wedge themselves into the crowd enough to see Peter fighting two other boys who were bigger than him.

A girl was also in the fight which was odd to Lucy. The girl had wavy amber hair and flashing golden eyes. She seemed to be fighting on Peter's side.

The boys shoved Peter against the wall of the station and the girl savagely pried one of the bullies off with a swift motion that looked like she hardly used any effort.

Susan felt pushing behind her and turned around to see her younger brother, Edmund, rush past her and join the fight.

"Edmund!" Lucy protested as she watched Edmund throw himself onto one of the bullies.

The people standing by, watching, were very much amused and Lucy wondered how cruel these people were.

A sharp _tweet_ echoed through the station and the crowd of children quieted as stationmasters marched toward Peter, Edmund, the girl and the bullies.

All of a sudden, everyone decided that they should leave and began to shove their way out of the subway tunnel.

Susan and Lucy were forced to back away from the fight by the swarm of people trying to get out.

The stationmasters managed to pull Peter off of a bully and break up the fight. "Act your age!" he shouted at Peter before shoving him away.

Susan gave Peter a look of pity before following the rest of the crowd away.

**A/N: I'm feeling pretty proud of myself now! Please be a supportive reader and review! I would very much appreciate it! Must keep twisting up the story! Thanks for reading!**

**~ThePeacockFeather**


	2. Chapter 2: The Return

**A/N: Hello my happy and supportive readers! I'm back! I just want to point this out so badly…**

**I HAVE OVER 1000 VIEWS ON THE LION THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE WITH A TWIST! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!**

**Okay, I'm done. Enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimers: I own nothing except Penthesilea who will be coming into the story again very soon!**

Chapter 2…

Edmund set all of his briefcases down on the floor of the station and sank into the bench with his siblings. "You're welcome," he said to Peter.

"I had it sorted," Peter replied defensively. He got up from the bench and paced the subway tunnel.

"What was it this time?" Susan asked as if these fights broke out a lot.

Peter turned to her and simply said, "He bumped me."

"So you hit him!?" Lucy cried in disbelief.

"No," Peter replied. "After he bumped me, they tried to make me apologize. That's when I hit him." Peter still seemed pretty mad about the fight and his voice sounded very hateful.

The remaining three Pevensies were quite annoyed by Peter's behavior. "Is it that hard to just walk away?" Susan asked sarcastically.

"I shouldn't have to!" Peter countered.

"And you dragged a girl into the mess too!" Susan pointed out.

Peter scowled. "I didn't need her help! _She's _the one who joined the fight! I didn't ask her to!"

The girl who had helped Peter had mysteriously disappeared after the fight and was nowhere to be seen. She didn't look like she was from here. She didn't have a school uniform on and wasn't proper enough to be a rich Victorian girl who goes to private school. But Lucy thought she was oddly familiar but would _she_ come here? Lucy's thoughts were harshly interrupted by Peter's complaints.

"Don't you ever get tired of being treated like a kid?"

Edmund raised an eyebrow. "Ugh, we _are_ kids." He pointed out.

"Well I wasn't always!" Peter sighed and plopped down on the bench between Lucy and Edmund. "It's been a year. How long does he expect us to wait?"

"I think it's time to accept that we live here." Susan announced. "It's no use pretending any different." She looked up and wondered when Peter would be civilized and act like a normal young man living in London. Her eyes wandered too far and she noticed the boy from the newspaper stand walking through the crowd and towards her. "Oh, no…" Susan muttered and quickly turned to her sibling. "Pretend you're talking to me."

"We _are_ talking to you," Edmund said, sparking a hint of sarcasm.

Susan didn't find that very amusing for she didn't even crack a smile. She gave Edmund a look like _Get serious._

"Ow!" Lucy suddenly shrieked and jumped up from her seat.

"Quiet, Lu!" Susan said, not wanting to attract attention.

"Something pinched me!" Lucy shouted, pointing accusingly at the innocent looking bench.

"Hey, stop pulling!" Peter yelled at Edmund to be heard over the train that was beginning to pull into the station. Peter stood up from the bench.

"I'm not touching you!" Edmund scowled at is brother.

"What is that?" Susan and demanded as she and Edmund felt it too and stood up.

"Feels like magic!" Lucy suggested, suddenly excited.

"Quick, everyone hold hands!" Susan commanded over the roar of the train.

"I'm not holding your hand!" Edmund shouted at Peter but reluctantly did anyway.

The train seemed to be going faster than it was supposed to go at a station. The wind picked up and whipped the Pevensies' hair around. Posters and pieces of the tunnel began to peel off like wrapping paper but no one else in the tunnel seemed to notice that anything was wrong.

Through the windows of the train, the Pevensies could see the other side of the station but it soon morphed into beach scenery.

The train then vanished without a trace in a flash. The station and the bench, their luggage and all the people in the tunnel had also vanished.

The Pevensies turned in the direction where the train had disappeared and saw a sunny beach.

The sound of the waves suddenly soothed everyone's mood and the siblings stepped out into the sunlight.

There was a faint breeze that brought the salty ocean air with it.

It was obvious where they were.

Lucy smiled playfully at Susan and the sisters giggled and ran out to the water, kicking off their shoes and sweaters as they went.

Edmund and Peter shoved each other through the sand and to the ocean.

It was warm and there was no need for the hats and scarves and vests the children wore.

They stomped in to the water and splashed each other like they were all just normal people spending a normal day on the beach. Their laughter echoed on the cliffs that surrounded them.

The water was a color of the sky mixed with azure and turquoise. The waves were gentle but Lucy was still knocked off her feet.

Edmund managed to escape from his siblings' splashing and squinted up at the cliff.

"Edmund! Ed!" the girls called to him.

The rest of the Pevensies noticed that Edmund wasn't doing anything and they too stopped.

"What is it?" Peter's blonde hair was wet and matted against his face.

"Where do you suppose we are?" Edmund asked, still staring at the cliffs.

"Where do you think?" Peter seemed completely cheered up, all signs of the angry fit he had in the station gone.

Edmund continued to try and make out what he saw on top of the wall of rocks. "Well, I don't remember any ruins in Narnia…"

Peter wondered what his brother was talking about. He and his sisters followed Edmund's gaze.

On the cliff were, what looked like the remains of a castle of fortress.

* * *

The Pevensies inspected the ruins carefully. Peter passed a column of stone that looked like it was used as a punching bag for a giant

It was easy to make out where staircases used to be and some windows.

Peter climbed to the top of a set of stairs to survey the area.

Lucy chewed on a red apple as she walked over to a balcony-like platform. She looked out to the sea. The view looked so familiar to Lucy. "I wonder who lived here."

Susan came out from behind a tree. As she walked to Lucy's side, she stepped on something. Susan bent over and picked it up. She examined it and frowned. "I think we did…"

Lucy frowned too and tilted her head curiously. She stepped over some rocks to get to Susan. They both looked down at the gold knight of a chess set.

The boys caught up with them and Edmund noticed the knight. "Hey, that's mine… from my chess set!" he realized.

"Which chess set?" Peter asked, wandering how they could have owned a gold knight piece.

"Well, I didn't exactly have a solid gold chess set in Finchley, did I?" Edmund took the chess piece and inspected it.

Lucy looked over to a ruined dais and a memory flashed into her mind.

The columns were destroyed like the others and nothing seemed of any real value.

"Can't be…" Lucy ran to the dais pulling Peter by the hand along with her.

Susan and Edmund followed kind of confused.

They approached four piles of rubble.

"Don't you see?" Lucy grabbed Peter's arms and positioned him in front of one of the rock piles. "Imagine walls…" she instructed. She made Susan stand by the next pile of rocks. "And columns there… and a glass roof," she finished as she took her place beside Susan.

The Pevensies did their best to imagine what Lucy had told them.

_Flashback…_

_The throne room was wide and open for the Narnians to gather and watch Aslan lead Lucy, Susan, Edmund and Peter to the thrones._

_Centaurs raised their swords for them including Oreius who was restored from being a statue._

_The Pevensies wore gowns and tunics made from the finest silk in the land. They walked up the steps to the throne and turned to look at their audience._

_"To the glistening Eastern Sea," Aslan began, his voice echoed through the room. "I give you Queen Lucy, the Valiant."_

_Lucy smiled real big as the Beavers entered the throne room, carrying crowns on fancy cushions._

_Mr. Tumnus followed the Beavers, took a silver crown from the cushion and placed it on Lucy's head._

_"To the great Western Wood," Aslan announced. "King Edmund, the Just."_

_Mr. Tumnus crowned Edmund with another silver crown._

_"To the radiant Southern Sun, Queen Susan, the Gentle. And to the clear Northern Sky," Aslan raised his voice. "I give you King Peter, the Magnificent."_

_The Pevensies reclined into their fancy chairs._

_"Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen," Aslan said. "May your wisdom grace us until the stars rain down from the heavens."_

_The Narnians joined in chorus. "Long live King Peter, long live King Edmund, long live Queen Susan, long live Queen Lucy!"_

_End of flashback._

"Cair Paravel," Peter realized.

* * *

The Tellmarines soldiers rode across the bridge that led to Lord Miraz's castle. Most of them were afraid of facing Miraz empty-handed.

It was morning but the sun was not shining very brightly.

Lord Miraz was on a balcony with Prunaprismia and his son was in his arms. He looked out to the courtyard where Glozelle and his men were entering. He felt a swell of anger rush through him as he didn't see the body of Caspian. Miraz hastily handed the baby to his wife and left them alone.

Prunaprismia could tell something was bothering Miraz.

In the stables, the men were unpacking their horses and loosening their armor.

Miraz stormed into the stables and began to stalk toward some innocent soldiers.

"Wait, My Lord!" Glozelle shouted as he stopped Miraz from shouting at the men. "It is not what you think."

"Then what is it?" Miraz growled at the General.

"We're not exactly sure," answered Glozelle. He nodded to a soldier and the man removed a piece of cloth from the side of his horse.

Miraz's eyes widened in shock and horror. "Impossible!" He and Glozelle exchanged serious looks.

* * *

"I warn this council when it put its trust in Miraz… there would be consequences!" shouted Lord Sopespian, a short man with hardly any facial hair and mischievous eyes.

In the largest chamber of the castle, sat numerous thrones for the Lords of the Council. Many of the thrones were empty however including the largest one in the center which seemed to be the most important.

"No, no!" another council member argued. "We cannot accuse the Lord Protector without proof!"

Another lord from the other side of the room sounded angry. "How long are we going to hide behind that excuse?" he demanded. "Until every chair in this chamber is empty?"

The heavy doors of the throne room swung open and Miraz strolled in as if he were the boss of all the council members. "Lords of the Council, my apologies for being late. I was unaware we were in session." He casually walked across the room and to his throne which was closest to the biggest one.

"No doubt you were otherwise occupied," Sopespian mused with a scheming smile.

Miraz was quiet for a moment. "My Lord?"

To the other council members, it was a respectful apology but Sopespian knew it was a warning.

A tall, buff man stood up from his throne. "Ever since the death of Caspian the ninth, you've behaved as if you were king." He looked at Miraz as he said that.

The other lords grew quiet to take the words in.

"And now, it seems, behind these walls even Prince Caspian has gone missing!" the lord continued.

All eyes were on Miraz, some accusing, some of pity and some of suspicion.

Sopespian spoke up; his mouth still twisted in a cruel smile as if he was watching a fish flopping up and down on a beach but was to evil to just throw it back into the sea. "My deepest condolences, Lord Miraz." He said this although it was pretty easy to tell that he didn't mean a word of it. "Imagine losing your nephew, the rightful heir to the throne, on the very night your wife has blessed you with a son."

Miraz surprisingly kept a straight face. "Thank you, Lord Sopespian. Your compassion is a boon is this troubled time."

"I trust you can tell us how such a tragedy could have occurred." Sopespian looked eager to humiliate Miraz in front of all the lords.

Miraz rubbed the arm rest of his seat and looked toward the door where Glozelle had just entered from.

The General nodded.

"That is the most disturbing news of all…" Miraz got up from his fancy chair and stood in front of the biggest throne. "Our beloved Caspian was abducted…"

The chamber was filled with nervous murmurs and discussions.

Miraz turned to face the council. "By _Narnians._"

The murmuring got louder and some men even laughed.

"You go too far, Miraz!" shouted an older Lord. "You expect us to stand by while blame such a blatant crime on fairytales?"

Miraz did nothing in his defense. He just nodded at Glozelle.

The General opened the door and two soldiers shoved a dwarf into the room.

The Lords gasped in horror and fascination as the men dragged the dwarf (who happened to be the one who saved Caspian if haven't already figured that out… let's call him Trumpkin, shall we?) to Miraz.

"We forget, my Lords," Miraz continued his speech. "Narnia was once a savage land. Fearsome creatures roamed free. Much of our forefathers' blood was shed to exterminate this vermin." He pointed a finger at Trumpkin.

The dwarf looked like he had gotten a beating outside and was tied up and gagged with a dirty cloth.

"… Or so we thought," Miraz added after a long silence. He turned his attention to Sopespian. "But while we've been bickering amongst ourselves, they've been breeding like cockroaches under a rock!" He felt pretty proud of himself for thinking of that simile. "Growing stronger… watching us," he lowered his voice to be more dramatic. "Waiting to STRIKE!" Miraz smacked Trumpkin, displacing the gag.

Trumpkin looked up at Miraz with hate. "And you wonder why we don't like you," he said weakly.

Miraz completely ignored the dwarf's comment and lean down in Trumpkin's face. "Well I intend to strike back." He began to back away from the dwarf and to the King's throne. "Even if I have to cut down the entire forest, I assure you I will find Caspian and finish what our ancestors began."

* * *

Edmund bent down to examine a piece of a stone column. "Catapults."

"What?" asked Peter who came up behind him.

Edmund looked up. "This didn't just happen. Cair Paravel was attacked," he explained.

Peter looked around and started toward a stone wall.

The girls and Edmund followed him.

Peter and Edmund pulled the wall off to the side to reveal a door behind it.

The door was mostly wooden and covered in vines. It was so old that Peter could peel the layers of wood off and it only took a small shove to push the door down completely.

Peter peek inside.

It was dark, dusty and smelled like dirt.

Peter used his pocket knife to cut a strip of fabric from the bottom of his shirt. He picked up a stick and wrapped the fabric around it. "I don't suppose you have any matches in there, do you?" he asked Edmund.

Edmund dug around in his satchel. "No…" Then he pulled out an electric torch (otherwise known in our time as a flashlight). "…but would this help?"

Peter gawked at the torch. "You might've mentioned that a bit sooner!" he whined.

Edmund smiled and led the way into the secret room, waving his torch around.

They walked down steep spiraling stairs and Lucy looked over the edge.

She saw a chamber below her with four fancy white chests. Then she hurried after her sibling before they left her behind.

They opened a tall gold gate at the bottom of the stairs and entered the chamber.

"I can't believe it!" Peter cried. "It's all still here!"

The younger Pevensies rushed to their chests of treasures and opened the lid. "I was so tall!" Lucy muttered as she held out a gown that was way too long for her.

"You were older then," Susan said, smiling.

"As opposed to a hundred years later… when you were younger," Edmund added as he put a large helmet on his head that was too small.

The girls giggled at how odd that sounded.

Peter picked up a disk that was covered in dust and blew on it.

The dirt blew away revealing the majestic face of a lion.

Peter put down the disk and walked over to his chest. A statue of him when he was in his late twenties stood behind the chest. Peter stared at it for a moment before opening his box of treasures.

"What is it?" Lucy suddenly asked.

"My horn!" Susan cried, after not finding her horn in her treasure chest. "I must have left it on my saddle… the day we went back."

Everyone turned to look at Peter as he lifted the lid of his storage chest and picked up his sword that Father Christmas had given his so many Narnian years ago.

Peter drew the sword and looked at the inscription on it. "_When Aslan bares his teeth, winter meets its death…"_

"_When he shakes his mane_," Lucy said, remembering Penthesilea translating the Narnian writing. "_We shall have spring again."_ Lucy felt tears coming on but chewed her lip to keep them from spilling. "Everyone we knew… Mr. Tumnus and the Beavers… they're all gone."

Everyone was quiet until Peter said, "I think it's time we found out what's going on."

* * *

Two Tellmarine soldiers were in a row boat on the river.

One was rowing and the other had a crossbow loaded in case they were attacked.

Trumpkin was dumped on the floor of the boat, still bounded up and gagged. He eyed the soldier who was rowing the boat.

"He won't stop staring," the soldier complained.

"So don't look," his companion advised.

Trumpkin continued to stare at the man making him very uncomfortable.

Finally the soldier couldn't stand it anymore. He stopped rowing and said, "Here's fine."

They lifted Trumpkin from the boat and prepared to throw him in the water.

A golden arrow flew through the air, striking the helmet of one of the soldiers and stuck there like an antenna.

Penthesilea stood on the shore and notching another arrow and before the soldier could react, a second arrow struck his helmet giving him the feelers of an ant.

Penthesilea was about to go for the kill when a different arrow struck the side of the boat the Tellmarines were standing in.

"Drop him!" someone shouted behind her.

"'Dwap hmm?!'" Trumpkin shouted. His voice was muffled by the gag.

Penthesilea spun around to see what idiot would say something like that at a time like this. What she saw completely surprised her.

The Pevensies were running to the beach and drawing their weapons.

As happy as she was to see that the Pevensies were back, Penthesilea was still pretty ticked off at Susan for shouting "Drop him!"

The Pevensies looked bewildered to see Penthesilea still youthful and completely well.

It took Penthesilea a few seconds to get over the surprise and the Tellmarine soldiers took advantage of that.

They quickly tossed Trumpkin into the water.

"Save the dwarf!" Penthesilea shouted and dived into the clear river water.

Peter and Edmund obeyed without question and dropped their weapons to follow Penthesilea's example.

One of the soldiers hastily picked up his crossbow and tried to aim into the water. He could see Penthesilea's shape moving swiftly under water.

But before he could shoot, Susan had already let her arrow fly into his chest.

The second Tellmarine soldier frantically looked around for something to block himself with. He snatched up a shield that lay in the boat and held it up.

Susan's arrows bounced right off.

The soldier was feeling pretty proud of himself until Penthesilea burst out of the water and flipped the boat, dumping the soldier in the river. He let out a whimper before swimming like a drunken man toward the opposite shore and away.

Meanwhile, Peter dove into the river to save Trumpkin.

The dwarf was desperately trying to swim with his hands and feet tied together.

Peter plunged into the water and swam down to where Trumpkin was helplessly drowning. He grabbed the dwarf and kicked off the bottom of the river floor to get to the surface faster.

Edmund pulled the row boat to the shore while Peter dragged Trumpkin to land.

Penthesilea stumbled out of the water but was completely dry as soon as she left the river. She and the Pevensies surrounded the dwarf.

Lucy cut him free from his bonds with her dagger.

Susan smiled, feeling very proud of herself.

Trumpkin coughed and doubled over when he was free. He snatched the gag away from his mouth and said, "'Drop him'?!" He glared at Susan. "That's the best you could come up with!"

Susan frowned, feeling very much offended now. "A simple 'thank you' would suffice!"

"They were doing fine drowning me without your help!" Trumpkin's face looked quite ticked off.

Penthesilea resisted the urge to laugh at the sight of a short little man shouting at Susan.

"Maybe we should have let them!" Peter threatened getting mad.

"Why are they trying to kill you anyway?" Lucy asked curiously.

"They're Tellmarines," Trumpkin answered darkly. "It's what they do."

"Tellmarines?" Edmund asked, confused.

"From the west," Penthesilea explained. "They're human. They came to this world from another many years ago. Apparently they decided to stay and form the nation of Telmar."

"Where have you been for the past few hundred years?" Trumpkin demanded like he didn't expect to get an answer.

"It's a bit of a long story," Lucy smiled.

"Few hundred years?" Edmund repeated Trumpkin. There was a perplexed look on his face as he turned to Penthesilea. "Then how are you still…"

Penthesilea's eyes bugged. "Old? Am I beginning to look OLD?!" She frantically examined her hands for any signs of wrinkles.

"No!" Edmund said a little too loud. "You look… lovely."

Penthesilea froze and looked at Edmund who was blushing a bit. "Thank you…" She relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief.

Susan did her best not to show her surprise at Edmund actually complimenting a girl. She's never seen Edmund even _talk_ to a girl back in London. Susan looked Penthesilea over.

The huntress' hair was braided down her back like the last time they saw her which, according to Trumpkin, was a few hundred years ago. Her golden dress was replaced by a bronze colored one. Her two hunting knives still hung at her belt and the serpent bracelet she got from Father Christmas was still around her wrist. Susan wondered if she used it yet. There has been absolutely no change whatsoever in her height, face, or body shape. Susan tried to figure out what was different about Penthesilea that Edmund noticed but she didn't.

At last Susan gave up and handed Peter's sword back to him.

Trumpkin noticed that the hilt of the sword was shaped like a lion and was golden. He eyed the five children (or shall I say four children and one immortal being since Penthesilea really isn't a kid but she looks youthful like one even though she's like… almost two thousand years old). "Aww… you've got to be kidding me," Trumpkin said more to himself than to anyone else.

The kids and Penthesilea stared at him blankly.

"You're it?" Trumpkin continued. "You're the Kings and Queens of old? The Guardian of Narnia?"

Penthesilea couldn't tell if he was disappointed or impressed.

Peter stepped forth and held out his hand to the short man. "High King Peter… the Magnificent."

The dwarf just stared at Peter's hand.

"You probably could have left out that last part," Susan murmured with a smiled on her face.

Trumpkin chuckled as if to doubt Peter's ability to be magnificent. "Probably," he agreed with Susan.

"You might be surprised," Peter said, drawing his sword and pointing it at Trumpkin.

"Oh, you don't want to do that, boy," Trumpkin warned but Penthesilea thought that he was probably just scared to get his dwarf butt kicked by a boy who is most likely younger than him.

"Not me," Peter looked at Edmund. "Him."

Edmund frowned at Peter like he couldn't believe his brother just set him up for a duel with a dwarf half his height. Edmund carefully drew his sword and raised it in defense.

Peter handed Trumpkin his sword and the dwarf sagged down with the weight of the weapon.

Edmund wondered if Trumpkin was going to make a move or not. He glanced at his brother.

Trumpkin suddenly raised his (Peter's) sword and knock Edmund's blade aside. He then took a swing at his opponent but Edmund ducked. Trumpkin took the opportunity to hit Edmund in the face with his fist.

Edmund backed off, clutching the area around his eye.

"Edmund!" Lucy shouted a warning.

"Aww, you alright?" Trumpkin mocked. He took another swing at Edmund who quickly recovered and moved out of the way.

He smacked the dwarf in the back with the butt of his sword.

Lucy giggled off to the side.

Trumpkin took yet another angry swing at Edmund.

Swords clashed together making metallic noises. Edmund blocked all the strikes that were thrown at him, making Trumpkin grunt in frustration.

Eventually, Edmund knocked the sword out of the dwarf's grasp.

Penthesilea smiled with satisfaction seeing that Edmund had actually gotten better at swordplay in the last 1300 years.

Trumpkin stared at Edmund's raised sword and fell to his knees in the beach sand. "Beards and bedsteads! Maybe that horn worked after all!"

"What horn?" Lucy asked.

Penthesilea knew exactly what the dwarf was talking about.

**A/N: Woo-woot! Done! I know I said I was going to have this chapter out earlier but I had so many projects to finish for school. Thanks for being patient, people! Please review and tell all your opinions!**

**~ThePeacockFeather**


	3. Chapter 3: Miraz is Unhappy

Chapter 3…

Caspian woke with a start. His body ached and his head was throbbing and wrapped with a bandage. The last thing he remembered was blowing the horn and the dwarf with a black beard knocked him out. Sometime during his deep slumber, he had seen the face of a girl. A very lovely girl with an amber braid and powerful golden eyes. He remembered hearing her voice say, "You cannot kill him! He may be important considering it was he who blew the horn." Another voice had argued, "He's a Tellmarine! How do you expect us to take care of him! He'll turn on us the minute he can stand and walk!" The girl's voice came back, "I highly doubt that, Nikabrik. You _dare _do any harm to him, I will personally see to it that you are punished." The other voice had given a reluctant grunt. Then the girl spoke again, "I'm going to the Ruins of Cair Paravel. Take care of the horn." That was the last thing Caspian heard before drifting back into unconsciousness.

Caspian sat up and rubbed his aching head. He took the bandage off and looked around the unusual room.

The room itself was an odd irregular shape. Small bead decorations hung on the walls and ceilings. Light came from a little candle that was already half way melted.

Caspian began to feel uncomfortable by the unfamiliar environment.

"This bread is so stale," a voice complained from another room.

Caspian recognized it as the same voice that had argued with the girl in his dream… the same voice that belonged to the creature who wanted to kill him. Caspian shuddered, got up from the bed and silently moved across the room to the doorway that led to a small dining room.

"I'll just get him some soup then…" a new voice replied. "He'll be coming around soon."

"Well, I don't think I hit him hard enough," scoffed the first, clearly annoyed by his friend's softness.

"Nikabrik, he's just a boy!"

"He's a Tellmarine, not some lost puppy!" Nikabrik the dwarf protested. "You said you were going to get rid of him!"

Caspian looked into the dining room, unnoticed by Nikabrik and his friend which Caspian saw was a badger… that talked.

"No, I said I'd take care of him," the badger said calmly.

Caspian jerked back at hearing an animal speak so human-like.

"We can't kill him now," the badger (let's call him Trufflehunter, shall we?) muttered, caring a bowl of soup in his paws. "We just bandaged his head. It would be like murdering a guest!" Trufflehunter cringed at the thought.

"And how do you think his friends are treating their guest?" Nikabrik demanded, thinking of Trumpkin who was captured by the Tellmarines.

The badgers face grew grim. "Trumpkin knew what he was doing… It's not the boy's fault. And besides, Penthesilea said she'll rescue him if she sees him." He began to put the soup on the table.

Caspian bolted for the door, knocking over Trufflehunter's soup in the process.

Nikabrik was much faster than Caspian had thought. The dwarf jumped out of his seat and blocked Caspian's way. The dwarf drew a pointy sword and waved it at Caspian.

Caspian grabbed the hot poker sitting beside the fireplace and blocked Nikabrik's attacks.

"Stop! No, no!" Trufflehunter shouted as Nikabrik swung his sword as Caspian.

"I told you we should have killed him while we had the chance!" Nikabrik shouted, pointing his weapon at Caspian and eyeing him with hatred.

"You know why we can't!" Trufflehunter argued.

Caspian was panting but he was glad that Nikabrik had stopped his attacks. "If we're taking a vote, I'm with him." He nodded at Trufflehunter.

"We can't let him go!" the dwarf shouted with rage. "He's seen us!" Nikabrik jabbed his sword at Caspian making the prince stumble back and trip over a set of stairs.

"Enough, Nikabrik!" Trufflehunter threatened. "Or do I have to sit on your head again?"

Nikabrik's mouth twisted into a pout, but he reluctantly lowered his weapon.

"And you!" Trufflehunter turned to a very bewildered Caspian. "Look what you made me do!" The badger picked up the small bowl of soup that had been spilled and headed for the kitchen muttering, "I spent half the morning on that soup."

"W-what are you?" Caspian asked carefully, still sitting on the stairs.

"You know… it's funny," Trufflehunter mumbled. "You'd think more people would know badger when they saw one." He refilled the bowl of soup.

"No, I mean…" Caspian glanced at Nikabrik. "You're Narnians, you're _supposed _to be extinct."

Nikabrik grunted, "Sorry to disappoint you." He turned and lumbered back to his seat at the dining table.

The badger arrived at the table and put the new bowl of soup down. "Here you go, still hot," he said to Caspian.

"Since when did own a boarding house for Tellmarine soldiers?" Nikabrik demanded. He glared at his badger friend.

"I'm not a soldier!" Caspian kind of shouted as he got up from his sitting postion. "I am Prince Caspian… the Tenth," he added hesitantly.

There was a silence. "What are you doing here?" Nikabrik finally said. His voice was now surprisingly concerned and worried.

"Running away…" Caspian muttered quietly.

Nikabrik and Trufflehunter glanced at each other.

"My uncle has always wanted my throne," Caspian continued slowly, putting the hot poker back in the fireplace. There was a faraway look in his eyes as he stared into the crackling flames. "I suppose… I only lived this long because he did not have an heir of his own."

"Well, that changes things," Trufflehunter whispered to the dwarf.

"Yes…" Nikabrik mused. "It means we don't have to kill you ourselves."

"You're right." Caspian broke away from his trance and rushed to the door. He grabbed his armor from a hook and quickly threw it on.

"Where are you going?" Trufflehunter cried pleadingly.

"My uncle will not stop until I am dead."

"But, you can't leave!" the badger said, leaning over his dining table at Caspian. "You're meant to save us!"

Caspian froze, trying to make sense of what Trufflehunter had said. He was supposed to save Narnians?

The badger picked up a white, shiny object lying on the table. "Don't you know what this is?"

Caspian stared at it and realized it was the horn.

* * *

The Prince's tutor (let us call him Doctor Cornelius) walked into his study. He carried an arm full of scrolls and documents as he made his way through the castle. As he neared his study, he noticed that the door was open and there were shuffling sounds inside. The doctor cautiously moved through the door and saw Miraz standing near the window, reading a book.

"You have quite a library, Doctor," Miraz mused without looking up from his book to acknowledge the tutor.

Doctor Cornelius quickly grew uncomfortable. He slowly walked over to a long wooden table and put his scrolls down casually. "Is there anything particular you seek, My Lord?"

"I think I've already found what I'm looking for…" Miraz walked to the doctor's table and, without warning, struck two arrows into the wood. "…In one of my soldiers!"

The arrows still vibrated from the impact as Doctor Cornelius took off his spectacles and looked down at the arrows.

One was brilliant gold and was almost blinding to look at in the morning sun. The other looked ordinary but the doctor could tell it was Queen Susan's arrow and the golden one was the arrow of the Guardian of Narnia.

The arrows were stuck into a book. Cornelius examined to book and saw that it was a picture of the Narnian Kings and Queens riding through a meadow.

Miraz sank into a chair and put his feet on the table. "What do you know of Queen Susan's horn and the Shape Shifting Guardian?" he growled.

"The horn was said to be magic," Doctor Cornelius answered quietly.

Miraz raised an eyebrow. "'_Magic_'?" he repeated, not getting up from his seat.

"The Narnians believed it could summon their Kings and Queens of Old… and in very difficult times, even the Mistress of Shape-shifting, Penthesilea." Cornelius continued. "At least such was the superstition."

Miraz kept a completely calm face. He got up and walked around the table to the doctor. "And what does Caspian know of this _superstition_?"

Cornelius chuckled nervously. "My Lord, you forbade me from mentioning the old tales." He stared at the ground and would not meet Miraz's eye.

"So I did," Miraz agreed, circling the old man who was obviously lying. Miraz looked to the doorway of the study.

Cornelius followed his gaze and saw General Glozelle standing at the door with a couple of his men. The doctor turned back to Miraz and spoke more aggressively now, "I will say this: if Caspian does know of the Deep Magic, my lord would have good reason to be nervous." Cornelius held Miraz's gaze, refusing to surrender.

The soldiers soon arrested the old man and forced him away. They disappeared down the hall just in time for Lord Sopespian to come down the stairs and see the soldiers dragging Cornelius away.

Sopespian turned to Glozelle who stood a few steps away. "First the Prince, now his tutor." He said these words as if to give the General a clue that something was going on. "If the members of Miraz's are not safe… are any of us?"

"Lord Sopespian!" Miraz called from the professor's study.

"Those are dangerous words, Lord Sopespian." Glozelle warned without any real threat.

"But, these are dangerous times, General," Sopespian reasoned. "One should choose his words as carefully as he chooses his friends." Then he turned and went in the study.

Glozelle took some time to take in the quote and found that Sopespian had a point.

Miraz was flipping through random pages of old books when Sopespian entered. Miraz spoke without looking up at him. "How long until the bridge is finished?"

"Construction continues on schedule," Sopespian informed as he walked up a few steps and reached the table where Miraz stood.

"That is not good enough!" Miraz growled. "I need my army across the river now!"

"May I suggest you contribute some of your own men?" Sopespian could feel a flush of anger wash through him but kept it under control. "I have only so many at my disposal."

"A fact you'd be wise to remember," Miraz snarled at Sopespian.

Sopespian just smirked at Miraz.

Miraz looked at Glozelle. "Go to Beruna," he ordered. "Take as many troops as you need. We must get to Caspian before they do."

Glozelle nodded and left the room.

"_They,_ My Lord?" Sopepian frowned at Miraz.

"It's time you learned your history," Miraz said simply and left Sopespian alone.

Sopespian looked down at the book that lay open on the table.

The picture depicted the four Kings and Queens of Old.

* * *

The water in Glasswater was as clear as glass, hence the name.

The Pevensies, Penthesilea, and Trumpkin sat in the row boat as Peter manned the oars, rowing them down the stream.

Penthesilea stood at the bow of the boat and leaned down to examine the water.

Trumpkin sat quietly behind her, looking glum and sad.

Lucy looked up at the cliff sides that surrounded them. She noticed the ancient trees growing limply on the cliffs. "They're so still."

Trumpkin looked up at the trees. "They're trees. What did you expect?"

"They used to dance," Lucy pointed out.

Penthesilea didn't say anything but Lucy knew she was listening.

"It wasn't long after you left that the Tellmarines invaded," Trumpkin muttered almost accusingly. "Those that survived retreated to the woods. And the trees… they retreated so deep into themselves that no one has heard from them since."

Lucy cringes at the sad tale. "I don't understand… How could you have let this happen?" she asked Penthesilea.

Penthesilea took a deep breath. "Aslan advised me to not interfere with the attack. He said that this might turn into a blessing."

"Aslan?" Trumpkin asked. "I thought he abandoned us all when you lot did."

Penthesilea growled, "Never underestimate the limits of Aslan's powers and wisdom, dwarf. If I had known you were going to criticize Aslan, I would have left you to the Tellmarines."

There was a short silence before Peter said, "We didn't mean to leave, you know."

"Makes no difference now, does it?" Trumpkin said bitterly.

The dwarf was really getting on Penthesilea's nerves.

"Get us to the Narnians and it will," Peter said calmly, still rowing the little boat.

**A/N: Okay, so I might have gotten a bit lazy on this chapter and made it kind of short but I still hope you enjoyed it and please review!**

**~ThePeacockFeather**


	4. Chapter 4: Savages

Chapter Four…

Peter slowly rowed the little boat to shore. His arms were stiff from moving the oars back and forth. He felt relief when the boat jerked to a stop on the pebbled river bank.

Trumpkin jumped out onto the land and dropped a small anchor into the dunes of rocks and stones. He stepped on the anchor to make it go deeper into the earth as Peter, Susan, and Edmund pulled to boat out of the water.

Lucy had wandered further inland, enjoying the scenery.

Penthesilea crouched near the boat, examining the stone and pebbles, probably looking for any signs that Tellmarines or wild beast would have been there. She scooped up a handful of sand and rocks and sniffed then for the scent. It smelled fishy and sweaty and like a fur coat after a swim in the river. It smelled like _bears_. Penthesilea frowned and began to look around frantically for a dark colored creature that might have left the scent.

"Hello there!" Lucy called from a couple hundred feet away.

Everyone looked to see who she was greeting.

Lucy was walking toward a creature that had black fur, a stubby snout, and four very sharp claws on its paws. Lucy approached it as if it were a long lost friend from the first grade.

The animal looked up from whatever was occupying it and grunted at Lucy.

"It's alright," Lucy said kindly, still walking toward the bear. "We're friends!" she reminded, thinking that the bear had forgotten about her.

The bear grunted again and sat up to get a better look at Lucy.

Penthesilea's golden eyes narrowed at the bear as it got back on four legs and shuffled around in the pebbles, studying Lucy like an eagle would study a field mouse. The huntress's eyes suddenly widened. "Lucy! Come back!" she screamed.

The older Pevensies and Trumpkin looked up in alarm from their work.

Lucy turned to Penthesilea with a perplexed expression on her face. "What is it?" she called, completely unaware that the bear had already began to charge at her. When she heard the bear's snorting cry, Lucy finally looked back.

The bear was only a few feet away and Lucy picked up her skirts and ran as fast as she could in the irregular pattern of the pebbles.

"Stay away from her!" Susan warned the bear as she notched an arrow into her bow.

Penthesilea gritted her teeth at Susan. _Why won't she just stop with the battle cries and shoot already! _Penthesilea thought in rage. She reached into her satchel and pulled out a weapon.

Lucy suddenly tripped over some rocks and fell to the ground.

The bear closed in on her, got up on its back feet, and roared at Lucy's face. Lucy screamed as the bear prepared to attack.

"Shoot, Susan! Shoot!" Edmund shouted to Susan who was still aiming.

Susan's hands shook and she couldn't get a good shot. And the voices and pressure around her didn't help much either.

Suddenly, there was an ear-splittingsnapping noise. A flash of silver flew at the bear that was towering over Lucy. When it made contact with the animal, another painful crack sounded.

The bear roared in agony and backed away from Lucy.

Trumpkin, Peter, Susan, and Edmund's eyes followed the trail of silver to an object in Penthesilea's right hand. It was a ten foot long, whip that glistened in the sunlight.

Penthesilea twirled her weapon and smacked the bear on the shoulder with the weapon.

Everyone winced at the horrible loud _crack_ as the whip made contact with the animal's skin.

There was no blood despite the terrible whipping it got, but the animal still fell to the ground and died on the spot.

Lucy stumbled up from the ground and ran into Peter's arms for protection. Peter hugged Lucy close and pointed his sword at the bear's body as if he suspected that it would come back alive again.

Susan lowered her bow. "Why wouldn't he stop?" she asked, bewildered. She turned to Trumpkin.

"I suspect he was hungry," Trumpkin said flatly. He stomped to the body and inspected it.

"He was wild," Edmund stated. "I don't think he could talk at all."

The others crowded around the bear's body. Penthesilea's whip had slid back into her satchel when Lucy tried to see what had saved her. "Thank you," Lucy said quietly.

Penthesilea looked at her and simply nodded before bending down to the bear body. She put a finger on the bear's forehead and spoke a silent prayer. The body shimmered and faded away. When Penthesilea turned around and found everyone staring at her, she said, "I cannot let the creature's body just lay here and decay. It must be properly disposed of since it is a wild creature of these woods and I was created to hunt them."

Trumpkin snorted. "I could have skinned it, and it would have been useful," he said gruffly.

Penthesilea glared at him. "The beast was killed by me so it would rightfully belong to me." She turned to Lucy with a softer look. "Nonetheless, Lucy, you must be very careful. You may find Narnia a more savage place than you remember."

Lucy nervously nodded and buried here face in Peter's shirt.

* * *

Caspian was getting very annoyed. He stomped through a forest of ferns, trying to move along faster. At last he stopped and turned around. "I can hear you."

Trufflehunter and Nikabrik came out from behind a tree with embarrassed looks on their faces. "I just think we should wait for the kings and queens," Trufflehunter suggested for the millionth time.

Caspian kept walking, ignoring the badger.

"Fine! Go then!" Trufflehunter shouted to Caspian. "See if the others will be as understanding!"

"Or maybe I'll come with you," Nikabrik mused. "I'd like to see you explain things to the Minotaurs!" He and Trufflehunter continued to follow Caspian on their journey through the ferns.

Caspian slowed down and looked back at them. "Minotaurs… they're real?" He was actually beginning to feel kind of paranoid.

"And very bad temper," Trufflehunter added as if Caspian had made a statement instead of asked a question. He and Nikabrik walked past Caspian.

"Not to mention big," Nikabrik said with emphasize like he was trying to intimidate the prince.

"Huge." Trufflehunter commented, stretching his badger claws out.

Caspian began to walk again, cautiously. "What about centaurs? Do they still exist?" He asked his companions carefully.

"Well, the centaurs will probably fight on your side," the badger wagged a finger at Caspian as he said that. "But there's no telling what the others will do…" He and Nikabrik continued on.

Caspian wondered if asking about Aslan would make him seem rude and nosy. But he asked anyway. "What about Aslan?"

Trufflehunter and Nikabrik froze in their tracks and turned back slowly to look at each other. Nikabrik glared at Caspian suspiciously. "How do you know so much about us?" he demanded.

Caspian shrugged. "Stories," he answered plainly.

"Wait, you father told you stories about Narnia?" Trufflehunter asked, suddenly interested.

"No, my professor…" Caspian corrected. He was quiet for a moment as Trufflehunter and Nikabrik processed. When they still didn't look very certain, he said, "Listen, I'm sorry. These are not the questions you should be asking." He hurried past them and attempted to through them off his trail again.

Trufflehunter sniffed the air and smelled something unpleasant.

"What is it?" Nikabrik demanded, watching the badger.

"Humans."

Nikabrik gave Caspian a paranoid look. "Him?"

"No…" Trufflehunter had stopped sniffing and glanced behind them. Nikabrik followed his gaze. "them!"

There was shouting in the distance and Caspian looked back. Several Tellmarine soldiers were approaching on foot with crossbows loaded and aimed. "There they are!" one shouted to his friends. The soldiers pointed their weapons and prepared to shoot.

"Run!" Caspian shouted. He and Trufflehunter and Nikabrik sprinted deeper into the thin forest, avoiding arrows and jumping over large ferns. Arrows flew past Caspian's ears and he could hear the air being sliced as he ran. He blindly dodged some more arrows and heard Trufflehunter yelp.

The badger had been shot with an arrow and was lying helplessly on the ground, wincing in pain. Nikabrik groaned, "Oh, no." He ran back for his friend.

"Wait, I'll go," Caspian rushed to the badger and began to scoop him up. But Trufflehunter squirmed and shoved Susan's horn in Caspian's face. "Take it! It's more important than I am!" Caspian hastily stuffed the horn in his cape and picked up Trufflehunter.

A Tellmarine soldier was shouting and pointing his crossbow at Caspian when a rustle in the bushes knocked him off his feet.

Caspian stared in wonder and confusion as the rustling moved and knocked down another soldier. He handed Trufflehunter to Nikabrik and said, "Get him out of here." Caspian turned back around and drew his sword. His eyes followed the rustling in the grass as it took down more soldiers.

The last soldier had dropped him crossbow and pulled out his sword to swing wildly at the ferns. Then he fell too and the rustling began to move rapidly toward Caspian. Caspian panicked for a moment and felt like running but before he could decide to flee or not, a small gray shape leapt from the grass and onto Caspian, knocking the prince to the ground.

A sword flew into the air and was caught by a little, innocent-looking mouse with a ring and feather on one of his ear. "Choose your last words carefully, Tellmarine!" the rodent warned Caspian, waving the sword around dangerously.

Caspian stared at his little attacker. "You are a mouse."

The mouse sighed in genuine disappointment. "I was hoping for something a little more original… pick up your sword." He gestured at Caspian's weapon that was lying on the ground a few feet away.

"Uh… no thanks," Caspian said carefully. He felt weird thanking a mouse.

"Pick it up!" the mouse commanded loudly sounding annoyed. "I will not fight an unarmed man," he stated nobly.

"Which is why I will live longer if I choose not to cross blades with you, noble mouse." Caspian said slowly.

"I said I wouldn't fight you. I didn't say I'd let you live!" the mouse threatened and raised his little sword.

"Reepicheep!" Trufflehunter shouted from a few feet away. "Stay your blade!" The badger winced in pain at the arrow wound he still had.

The mouse, whose name was apparently Reepicheep, looked up at the badger. "Trufflehunter? I trust you have a good reason for this untimely interruption!"

Nikabrik said flatly, "He doesn't. Go ahead."

Trufflehunter sighed. "He's the one who blew the horn!"

Reepicheep stared at Caspian who was still on the ground, not looking very heroic or brave at all. "What?"

"Then let him bring it forward," someone said.

Trufflehunter, Nikabrik, Reepicheep, and Caspian looked behind them and saw four centaurs standing in the clearing.

They were half horse and half human with dark skin and long tangled hair. Their chests were bare and their lower horse bodies were sleek and black.

"This is the reason we have gathered," one of the centaurs said in a gruff voice and looked at Caspian.

* * *

Peter was irritated. They've been walking for hours and Trumpkin and Penthesilea had insisted that they were going in the wrong direction.

The Pevensies, Trumpkin, and Penthesilea navigated through the woods. "I don't remember this way at all," Susan complained. She looked around for something familiar but everything was new.

"That's the problem with girls," Peter answered coldly. "You can't carry a map in your heads." He led the party to a clearing where black walls of granite rose above their heads.

Penthesilea snorted. "I've lived in Narnia since before you were born. I'd think that I'd know how to get to the Shuddering Wood."

Peter stopped in front a stone path. "I'm not lost." In the tone of his voice, the rest of the group can tell that he _was_ lost.

"You're just going the wrong way, Peter," Penthesilea said, walking beside Peter. "You really should get out more and look at the change nature goes through after several hundred years."

Peter stared at her. "Trumpkin said that Caspian was last seen at the Shuddering Wood. And the quickest way to get there is to cross at the River Rush."

"Is that so?" Penthesilea said, crossing her arms in annoyance.

"Unless I am mistaken, there is no crossing around these parts," Trumpkin said gruffly.

"That explains it then. You're mistaken!" Peter replied, still thinking that he is right. He continued down the stone path and the rest followed.

Penthesilea raised an eye brow and rolled her radiant eyes. _He just loves to embarrass himself, doesn't he? _she thought before going after the group.

Soon the sound of the river could be heard and the travel party reached a deep gorge with the dangerous rushing water of the river below. They looked over the edge of the gorge and Penthesilea smirked. "Over time, the river erodes the earth's soil making the gorge deeper," she said like a teacher lecturing a dumb student.

"Oh shut up…" Peter muttered. He looked down at the dangerous drop to the river. "Is there a way down?" he asked Trumpkin.

"Yeah, falling," Trumpkin said with a straight face. He turned the way they'd come from and said, "Come. There's a ford at Beruna. Any of you mind swimming?"

"Anything's better than walking," Susan put in. She picked up her skirts and began to follow Trumpkin. The party started to walk away from the gorge but Lucy glanced back.

"Aslan? It's Aslan!" she shouted to her friends.

Everyone turned around quickly and stared at the empty forest that was supposed to be Aslan. They saw nothing.

"Well? Can't you see?" Lucy cried. "He's right…" She spun back around in and saw that Aslan was not there. "…there." Her smile faded quickly and was replaced by a frown.

"Do you see him now?" Trumpkin asked.

Lucy's was feeling angry now. It was the wardrobe scene all over again where nobody believed her. "I'm not crazy," she told Trumpkin. "He was there. He wanted us to follow him."

"I'm sure there are any numbers of lions in these woods. Just like that bear," Peter replied.

"I think I know Aslan when I see him!" Lucy said coldly.

"Look, I'm not about to jump off a cliff after someone who doesn't exist!" Trumpkin said.

Penthesilea snarled like a lion. "I'll have you know, dwarf, I've seen Aslan with my own eyes and so has Lucy. If Aslan was not real, then how am I a living being? I'll be sure to let Aslan know you made that disrespectful comment about him! Perhaps the reason you didn't see him was that you are not worthy!" Penthesilea got in Trumpkin's face then stood beside Lucy to make her point clear.

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

Edmund spoke up after a while. "The last time I didn't believe Lucy… I ended up looking pretty stupid… "

Silence…

"Why didn't I see him?" Peter asked Lucy quietly.

"Maybe you weren't… looking."

Peter sighed and started to lead the others away from the gorge again. "I'm sorry, Lu."

Penthesilea gritted her teeth but followed, putting her arm around Lucy who was close to crying. "I believe you Lucy," she said softly.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that chapter and please leave a review to tell me what you think. Hit the favorite button if you want and push the follow button to know when chapter 5 will be posted! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!**

**~ThePeacockFeather**


	5. Chapter 5: The Meeting

Chapter 5

**Disclaimers: I don't own anything!**

The evening air was filled with the angry shouts of Narnians as they pelted Caspian with pebbles and sticks. Centaurs, talking animals, and other mythical creatures surrounded the Dancing Lawn.

"All this horn proves is that they have stolen yet another thing from us!" Nikabrik shouted to his fellow Narnians. He eyed the Horn of Queen Susan that hung from Caspian's belt.

"I didn't steal anything," Caspian said calmly. He looked at all the creatures that surrounded him. They were all shouting so he could not concentrate on just one voice.

"Didn't steal anything?" a Minotaur echoed angrily. "Shall we list the things the Tellmarines have taken?" he said to his allies.

The Narnians all began to shout out random things that were taken from them. "Our homes!" "Our freedom!" "Our lives!"

"You would hold me accountable for all the crimes of my people?" Caspian asked the Narnians.

Nikabrik didn't even blink. "Accountable… and punishable!"

The rest of the angry mob roared in agreement to the dwarf.

Reepicheep stepped away from the crowd and jabbed a little mouse finger at Nikabrik. "That's word from you, dwarf! Have you forgotten that it was your people who fought alongside the White Witch?"

"And I'd gladly do it again if it would rid us of these barbarians!" Nikabrik countered.

Trufflehunter, who has miraculously recovered from his arrow wound stood up on his little badger paws. "Then we are lucky it is not in your power to bring her back. Or do you want us to ask this boy to go against Aslan?"

The Narnians shouted some more until Trufflehunter silenced them. "Some of you may have forgotten," Trufflehunter began, wagging a finger at Nikabrik. "but we badgers remember well, that Narnia was never right except when a son of Adam was king."

"He's a Tellmarine! Why would we want him as our king?" Nikabrik shouted. A roar of approval came from the Narnians standing behind the dwarf.

"Because I can help you," Caspian answered Nikabrik's question. "Beyond these woods, I am a prince. The Tellmarine throne is rightfully mine. Help me claim it, and I can bring peace between us."

"It is true," a centaur said (we'll call him Glenstorm). "The time is ripe. I watch the skies, for it is mine to watch and yours to remember, Badger. Tarva, the Lord of Victory and Alambil, the Lady of Peace has met, and here a Son of Adam has come forth to offer us back our freedom."

A small squirrel scampered onto a tree branch behind Caspian and spoke in a rapid and high pitched voice. "Is it possible? Do you really think there could be peace? Do you? I mean, really?"

"Two days ago," Caspian said to the squirrel. "I did not believe in the existence of talking animals, or dwarves, or centaurs… yet here you are… in numbers we Tellmarines could never have imagined." He unhooked the horn from his belt and held it in the air for the Narnians to feast their eyes on. "Whether this horn is magic or not, it brought us together. And together, we have a chance to take back what is ours.

"If you will lead us," Glenstorm said, drawing his sword and holding it at to Caspian. "… then my sons and I offer you our swords."

"And we offer you our lives… unreservedly," Reepicheep bowed at Caspian.

"Miraz's army will not be far behind, Sire," Trufflehunter informed all proper-like.

Caspian looked around at the centaurs and dwarves and animals that surrounded him. "If we are to be ready for them, we must hurry to find soldier and weapons. I am sure they will be here soon."

* * *

The sound of a tree falling could be heard from miles away. Another tall pine tree toppled to the ground. Tellmarine soldiers shouted to each other as the chopped down the trees and cut them in planks for the bridge.

It was daytime and the sun was covered by a few clouds as the soldiers worked to build a walkway across the river.

Behind a pile of tree trunks, the Pevensies and Penthesilea and Trumpkin hid and watched the Tellmarines destroy more nature. They ducked down as a few men passed by on their horses.

The river bank was completely packed with soldiers and horses that were building the bridge and the travel group couldn't even get close.

"Perhaps this wasn't the best way after all," Susan whispered to Peter.

They kept watching as Miraz passed beside their hiding place on his horse. The bridge was already halfway across the river and soon the Tellmarines would be able to invade Narnia.

* * *

Back at the gorge, Lucy stared at the large boulder that she saw Aslan on. She kept trying to imagine him there but couldn't.

"So… where exactly did you think you saw Aslan?" Peter asked, just to make conversation after they had failed to stop the Tellmarines from building a bridge.

Lucy glared at Peter. "I wish you'd all stop trying to sound like grown-ups!"

"I am a grown-up…" Trumpkin muttered quietly.

Lucy acted like she didn't hear Trumpkin. "I didn't think I saw him. I _did_ see him." She started to walk slowly along the edge of the ravine. "It was right over…"

Suddenly the ground collapsed under Lucy and she screamed.

"Lucy!" Penthesilea shouted as she and the rest of the group ran to the place where Lucy had fallen.

Lucy was sitting safely just a few feet down. "…here," she finished. She looked over the edge of her little mount and saw a narrow and steep path down the gorge.

* * *

The Pevensies hugged the wall of the gorge carefully as they inched down the dangerous path. When they got to the bottom, they found a calm part of the river and stepped on stepping stones to get across. Lucy slipped on a stone and almost took a tumble into the water but Trumpkin pulled her back into balance.

Lucy looked up at the silent trees and wandered if Aslan had wanted them to find this path down the gorge.

* * *

The night sky was starless and sounds of wild animals could be heard from the woods. Crickets had begun to chirp. The Pevensies and Penthesilea and Trumpkin made a crackling fire and went to sleep around it. They were in a small clearing of the forest and the trees parted so that Lucy could watch the sky. She stared at it sleepily.

"Lucy, are you awake?" Susan whispered to her sister.

Lucy didn't take her eyes from the sky and answered with a "Hmm."

Susan sat up and looked over at Lucy. "Why do you think I couldn't see Aslan?"

"You believe me?" Lucy asked. She sat up too, suddenly interested.

"Well… we got across the gorge."

"…I don't know," Lucy admitted. "Maybe you didn't really want to," Lucy said, unaware that Penthesilea and Trumpkin was awake and listening to their conversation.

"You always knew we'd be coming back here, didn't you?" Susan asked.

"I hoped so…" Lucy replied sleepily. She remembered a year ago when she had tried to go back to Narnia after they defeated the White Witch and the old Professor Kirke had told her that there was another way into Narnia.

Susan lay back down. "I finally just got used to the idea of living in England."

"But you're happy to be here, aren't you?" Lucy asked.

"While it lasts…"

Lucy frowned and lay back down and finally went to sleep.

* * *

Lucy woke up the next morning at dawn and found that her siblings were still asleep and so was Trumpkin. The fire had died and the ashes were being spread slowly.

"Lucy," Penthesilea hissed.

Lucy sat up and saw the huntress standing near a trail that led into the woods. "Yes…?"

"Come," Penthesilea commanded and took off into the woods.

Lucy stumbled up from her sleeping position and looked around at her siblings who were still in deep slumber. Then she picked up her skirts and ran after Penthesilea.

It seemed to get brighter as Lucy ran deeper into the forest and the forest seemed to grow more attracting and alive where ever Penthesilea passed.

The huntress stopped in front of a row of beautiful cherry blossom trees.

"What is it?" Lucy asked when she caught up with Penthesilea.

Penthesilea touched one of the trees and closed her eyes. "Aslan wants to see you, Lucy. We must not keep him waiting."

Lucy gasped at the tree that Penthesilea touched turned a brilliant golden color and its petals dropped from the branches and formed the shape of a women.

The dryad giggled and waved at Lucy. Then she motioned toward the other cherry blossom trees. The trees began to shift and move to form a path for Lucy.

Lucy looked at the path then at Penthesilea.

The huntress nodded and followed Lucy as she ran through the trail and around a large boulder.

Lucy could feel the peacefulness around her as she got closer to Aslan. Then he was there…

The Great Lion stood on a little hill in a spotlight made by rays of sunshine.

Lucy broke into a happy smile, ran up the hill, and hugged Aslan around his large bushy mane. "I've missed you so much!" she said, patting his forehead. Then she stood back and observed. "You've grown!"

"Every year you grow so shall I," Aslan replied in his gentle but powerful voice.

Lucy's face suddenly fell. "Where have you been? Why haven't you come to help us?" she asked.

Aslan blinked and said, "Things never happen the same way twice, dear one."

A twig snapped and Lucy woke with a start. She looked around and saw that Penthesilea was still asleep and it was not sunny like in her dream. She sat up and whispered to her sister, "Susan, wake up!"

Susan mumbled in her sleep. "Certainly, Lu… whatever you like." She rolled over and continued to sleep.

Lucy heard another twig snap and got to her feet. She quietly snuck away from the camp and arrived at the place where the dryad had greeted her in her dream. The trees were still and completely silent when Lucy walked past them. She touched one of the trees and said, "Wake up." Nothing happened. Disappointed, Lucy kept going and soon heard a growl. "Aslan?" she shouted hopefully.

Suddenly someone snuck up behind Lucy and quickly put his hand over Lucy's mouth and pulled her back behind a boulder. Lucy squirmed at first but stopped when she saw it was just Peter. They peeked out from their hiding place to see a Minotaur stomping through the forest with swords and lances strapped to his back.

Peter signaled Lucy to stay and be quiet as he drew his sword slowly. He got up from the ground and began to walk toward the Minotaur silently, planning to fight it off. Peter was about to take a swing at the monster when Caspian came out of nowhere and slammed his sword into Peter's.

They began to dual and at first it seemed like Peter was winning but he carelessly took a swing at Caspian who ducked. Peter's sword got stuck in a tree and Caspian kicked him away. Caspian tried to pull Peter's sword from the tree and use it himself while Peter struggled to get up.

Lucy was watching in fear as Peter looked around for a weapon. Then a giant gray wolf leapt through the air, over Lucy, and into the battle.

Caspian was taken by surprise as the wolf got between him and Peter. Its golden eyes told Lucy that the wolf was really Penthesilea.

Penthesilea growled and bared her fangs at Caspian.

Caspian pointed his sword at what he thought was a wolf. His teachers had never taught him how to fight animals so Caspian was kind of in trouble.

Penthesilea launched herself at Caspian and Caspian swung Peter's sword. The blade completely bounced off of Penthesilea's fur since she was blessed by Aslan. Penthesilea kicked up a cloud of dust in Caspian's face and while Caspian was blinded, she quickly turned back to human form.

She drew her huge hunting knives and began to slice wildly at Caspian. Caspian was backed into a tree and Penthesilea was about to chop his head off but she hesitated.

It took just about two seconds for Caspian to figure out that his attacker was the girl he saw at Trufflehunter's den.

"No! Stop!" Lucy cried from her hiding spot. She jumped up from the ground. Penthesilea froze.

The Narnians began to come out from hiding and surrounded Peter and Penthesilea. Caspian had finally pulled Peter's sword from the tree and pointed it at his attackers.

A bear snuck up behind Penthesilea and growled. Penthesilea just pointed a finger at it and the bear fell to the ground, asleep.

Peter stared at Caspian closely. "Prince Caspian?" he asked, unsure.

"Yes? And who are you?" Caspian questioned trying to sound brave.

"Peter!" Susan shouted as she, Edmund, and Trumpkin rushed to the scene.

It was awkwardly quiet as the Narnians stared in confusion and were trying to decide whether to attack or not.

Caspian looked at the sword he held in his hand and saw a hilt that was shaped like a lion's head. "High King Peter."

"I believe you called," Peter said with a tone in his voice that suggested that wasn't planning on helping.

"Well, yes but… I thought you'd be older," Caspian said.

Peter looked annoyed. "If you'd like, we can come back in a few years." He turned around and began to walk away.

"No! It's alright," Caspian said quickly. "You're just… you're not exactly what I expected." He glanced at Penthesilea, who was neither smiling nor glaring at him, just watching him carefully out of the corner of her eyes.

"Neither are you," Edmund countered with a glare on his face. He didn't very much like the way Caspian looked at Penthesilea.

A Minotaur grunted at Edmund.

"A common enemy unites even the oldest of foes," Trufflehunter said wisely.

Reepicheep swiftly ran down from the small hill he was hiding on and said to Peter, "We have anxiously awaited your return, my liege." He bowed at Peter. "Our hearts and swords are at your service." He noticed Penthesilea smiling at him. "Oh! Uh…" Reepicheep quickly straightened his fur and bowed at Penthesilea. "And it is a pleasure to meet the huntress of legends. Perhaps we can spar sometime and you can teach me some of your technique?"

"Of course, kind mouse," Penthesilea smiled. "I can see that you have a noble and brave heart."

Reepicheep laughed nervously and fumbled with the feather on his ear. "Thank you for you kind words." He bowed again at Peter and Penthesilea.

Lucy was about to melt. "Oh my gosh, he is so cute!" she whispered to Susan.

"Who said that?!" Reepicheep shouted, drawing his sword and pointed it accusingly at a few dwarves.

"Sorry…" Lucy said apologetically.

"Oh, uh… Your Majesty," Reepicheep said, not so angry anymore. "With the greatest respect, I do believe courageous, courteous, or even chivalrous might more befit a knight of Narnia." He twirled his sword around and put it back in its sheath.

"Well, at least we know some of you can handle a blade," Peter said, smiling.

"Yes, indeed," Reepicheep said, puffing out his chest, feeling flattered that Peter had complimented him. "And I have recently put it to good use, securing weapons for your army, Sire."

"Good, because we're going to need every sword we can get," Peter said, turning to Caspian.

"Well then," Caspian replied. "You will probably be wanting yours back." He held out Peter's sword to its owner and Peter took it and sheathed it.

Then he walked away, leading the Narnians and his sibling out of the woods.

**A/N: Looks like I was able to post this before Thanksgiving. Wow… it's my new record! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I've been asked to make Caspian and Penthesilea a couple… what do you guys think? Tell me in the reviews!**

**~ThePeacockFeather**


	6. Chapter 6: Battle Plans

**A/N: I'm baaaaaaaaaack! Sorry for the really long wait and hopefully it won't happen again. Keep in mind that I have three other stories to update so don't expect me to put all of my attention on this one, 'kay? Good. Enjoy**!

Chapter 6

The bridge's construction was coming along nicely, and Miraz would have been very pleased with the progress if he hadn't been called by General Glozelle for something quite unpleasant.

Glozelle was waiting for Miraz and Sopespian near the wagons that held the weapons. Miraz looked into a wagon and found it completely empty. "How much did they take?" he growled at the general.

"Enough weapons and armor for three regiments," Glozelle replied. "There's more." He lifted up the door of the wagon to reveal a message sloppily carved in the wood.

_You were right to fear the woods._

_X_

"_X_?" Sopespian repeated in confusion.

"Caspian…" Miraz growled. "… the _Tenth._" (A/N: In Roman numerals, X means 10 if you guys haven't already figured it out!)

"I had my orders, my Lord," Glozelle said to Miraz. "The blame is mine…"

"I know," Miraz nodded. "Tell me, General…" He pulled Glozelle's sword from its sheath. "How many men did you lose?"

Glozelle looked confused. "None, my Lord."

Miraz raised an eyebrow. "None?" he repeated, not convinced.

"They came like ghosts… in the dead of night," Glozelle nervously described how the Narnians raided their weapon carts. "We never saw them."

"Then how down you explain your injuries?" Miraz glanced at the soldiers behinds Glozelle who looked beaten and rusty.

Glozelle said nothing. He glanced nervously at Lord Sopespian who stood by Miraz's side. Sopespian smiled slyly at the general.

Miraz suddenly lost patience and hit Glozelle in the face. Glozelle recoiled and clutched his nose which was bleeding from Miraz's strike.

"I asked…" Miraz tried again. "How many men were killed in this bloody Narnian attack of which _you _were a fortunate survivor…" Miraz pointed Glozelle's sword at him threateningly. "General, how many?"

Glozelle stared at Miraz, deciding what to do. He looked down at the sword that was pointed to his throat and turned slowly to glance at the men behind him. At last he grabbed the hilt of the sword and pulled it away from his throat. "Three," he answered, glaring at Miraz.

Miraz gave Glozelle one last dangerous look before turning away from the general and walking to his horse that waited him. "I apologize, Lord Sopespian," he said to Sopespian. "Caspian is not a victim of this savage uprising. He is the instigator." He climbed onto his white horse and turned to Sopespian. "It seems Narnia is in need of a new king." Then he rode away, leaving Sopespian in the dust with Glozelle and his three injured men.

* * *

The Narnians walked in an organized line through the woods with a centaur leading them.

"So, what was it like?" Trufflehunter asked Trumpkin eagerly. Nikabrik, Trumpkin and the badger had reunited.

"Malcontents, complainers, stubborn as mules in the morning," Trumpkin described gruffly, remembering his time in Miraz's castle.

"So you like them, then?" Nikabrik asked sarcastically.

"Well enough," Trumpkin replied.

Lucy smiled at their conversation. She walked behind the dwarves beside Reepicheep and Penthesilea.

At last, they came to a grassy meadow. Across the plain was a large mass of earth that had small entrances at the base. Lucy gasped at its magnificence.

Penthesilea remembered this place. It was where Aslan's camp had been 1300 years ago. Penthesilea still remembers that day when she went to battle thinking that Aslan was dead. She blinked the memory away and followed Caspian and the Pevensies across the grassy plain and to the main entrance.

As they approached the walkway that lead into the mass of rocks and dirt, centaurs surrounded both sides of the walkway and drew their swords. They held their weapons up as if they practiced this.

The Pevensies went first, walking under the arch of swords. Penthesilea came next. Caspian hung back, feeling a bit less important now that the Pevensies and Penthesilea were here.

Inside the natural fortress, fauns were busy making weapons and centaurs studied battle maps while animals patrolled the dark passageways. The sound of metalwork echoed through the fortress as Caspian lead the Pevensies on a tour. "It may not be what you are used to, but it is defensible," he said when they reached the center of the labyrinth-like structure.

Penthesilea noticed a dark corridor, that Caspian had not shown them, and immediately grew suspicious. "Peter," she nudged the eldest king. "Come this way." She swiftly weaved her way around a few fauns and led the Pevensies along.

Caspian was a bit hesitant to follow them but went anyways.

The corridor was not as brightly lit as the others, and faded cave paintings covered the walls. Penthesilea's faint aura lit the way a little, and Peter and Edmund carried torches.

Lucy examined a painting closely and saw four kings and queens standing beside their thrones. "It's… us," she realized. She turned to Caspian. "What is this place?"

Caspian was quiet for a moment. "You don't know?" When the Pevensies didn't say anything, Caspian grabbed a torch from the wall and led them deeper into the fortress.

Seconds later, the corridor opened to a large chamber. Caspian dipped his torch into an opening in the wall, and the fire spread around the room, illuminating it.

A giant, detailed carving of a lion was engraved in the wall. A few broken columns littered the ground, and large stone platform was at the center of the room. The platform was cracked down the middle.

Everyone recognized it immediately. Lucy slowly approached the Stone Table and felt its cold surface. "He must know what he's doing."

Penthesilea stared at the Aslan carving on the wall.

"I think it's up to us now," Peter added.

* * *

Penthesilea sat on the Stone Table with Lucy as Peter and Caspian talked about battle strategies.

Narnians filled the chamber to listen and/or give their opinions.

"It's only a matter of time," Peter was saying. He stood with Caspian in front of the Stone Table. "Miraz's men and war machines are on their way. That means those same men aren't protecting his castle."

"Then what do you propose we do, your Majesty?" Reepicheep asked.

Penthesilea, Peter, and Caspian all began talking. But they soon grew quiet when they noticed that they were being spoken over. Caspian looked at Penthesilea, Penthesilea looked at Peter, and Peter looked at Caspian.

There was an awkward silence.

Penthesilea jumped off of the Stone Table and said, "We have to strike them before they strike us. We have to do as much damage as we can before Miraz uses his full force on us-"

"Crazy. No one has taken that castle," Caspian interrupted.

The room grew deathly silent.

Penthesilea froze before slowly turning to glare at Caspian. "You dare to challenge my skill? You do not know what I am capable of. And besides, there's always a first time for everything."

"But we have the advantage here!" Caspian argued. "If we dig in, we could probably hold them off indefinitely."

The Narnians began to murmur amongst themselves about how they feel much safer to be underground.

Peter turned to Caspian, "Look, I appreciate what you've done here, but this isn't a fortress. It's a _tomb_."

Edmund, who sat on a fallen column nearby, added, "Yes, and if the Telmarines are smart, they'll just wait and starve us out."

Penthesilea nodded, "And there are plenty of other ways they can easily defeat us if we stay here. They can collapse the entrance and trap us. If they manage to make this entire cave fall, we'll all perish under the rubble. Is that what you have in mind, Caspian?"

She didn't wait for Caspian to answer. Penthesilea found a spot on the ground where the dirt wasn't too hard, and the crowd parted for her. She pulled out one of knives and swiftly drew a map-like drawing on the dirt with the blade. After sheathing her weapon, Penthesilea pointed at her drawing. "On to business," she announced as if the conversation before that been total child's play. "We will enter through the western gate." She motioned to the lower end of her hastily drawn map. "Reepicheep, take care of the guards."

The mouse puffed up his chest nobly. "Or die trying, my lady."

"Good. Edmund, take a mount and-"

Before Penthesilea could continue, Lucy spoke up. "That's what I'm worried about."

Penthesilea raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

Lucy slid off of the Stone Table. "You're all acting like there are only two options. Die here, or die there."

Penthesilea processed this while Peter said, "I'm not sure you've been listening, Lu…"

"No, _you're_ not listening," Lucy said sternly. "Or have you forgotten who _really_ defeated the White Which, Peter?"

Peter swallowed his anger and said, "I think we've waited for Aslan long enough."

This time, Penthesilea was too uncertain to say anything in Aslan's defense.

* * *

Penthesilea sat on her knees in front of large tree outside of the mass of earth that was the military headquarters for the Narnians. It was a sunny outside, and the attack on Miraz's castle will take place in two days.

The wind blew gently, making the branches of the tree sway. The sound of training could be heard in the distance.

Penthesilea simply breathed in the air and tried to relax. Her bow, knives, and whip were lying on the grass in front of her. She preferred to practice alone.

After staying perfectly still for a few minutes, the huntress picked up her bow and notched an arrow. Then, she waited.

A weak breeze blew again, and a leaf fell from the tree.

In a second, Penthesilea had narrowed her eyes, aimed, and shot her arrow through the leaf, pinning it on the trunk of the tree. Another breeze came and knocked more leaves off of their branches. Like before, the shape-shifter pierced each leaf with an arrow.

Moments later, Penthesilea noticed someone standing nearby out of the corner of her eyes watching her. She kept shooting and hoped that the person would just leave and come back later. But, he did not leave and Penthesilea grew irritated. "What do you want?" she growled and pointed her bow threateningly at the visitor.

It was Edmund.

Penthesilea's radiant eyes widened a bit in surprise, but she quickly hid her shock. "Why are you here?"

Edmund slowly approached her. "I was just wondering if you were alright. I noticed that you didn't get angry when Peter criticized Aslan."

Penthesilea looked at the ground and gripped her bow. She noticed that Edmund had grown taller and was now the same height as she was. "What are you suggesting?"

Edmund studied the huntress carefully. She looked discouraged, tired even. Her aura wasn't as bright as it was when they were in the, and her usual haughty face was now a mask uncertainty.

"I thought that you might be unconfident about the battle plan," Edmund answered. "If there is something you don't like about the strategy, you should to tell Peter. He needs all the advise he can get."

Penthesilea smiled bitterly. "It's strange, Edmund, how uncertain I feel right now. Lucy has reminded me that Aslan is stronger than us all and that we need his help if we're going to win against Miraz. But…" she swallowed. "Even I cannot find Aslan now. I've tried to call to him but I never get an answer. Of all of us, I should be the one who has the best chance of contacting him. However, I cannot. I feel so useless…" She lowered her head and continued to stare at her feet.

Edmund bit his lip to think of something to say. "If you can't find Aslan, that means that he doesn't want to be found. It's not your fault. You've done everything you can. The best thing we can do now is attack Miraz before he can attack us. You're called the Guardian of Narnia, right? You'll do what's best to keep the Narnians safe. We need you."

Penthesilea was silent for a long minute. "You've most definitely changed, Edmund," she said with a genuine smile. "And you also know how to make a girl feel better. I just hope that the attack on Miraz is a success. Otherwise…"

"Edmund!" Susan shouted from a distance.

Penthesilea and Edmund both looked in her direction.

Susan continued, "Peter wants to see you in the tomb. Now!"

Edmund turned back to the huntress nervously. "Well… I'll see you in a couple of days…"

Penthesilea nodded to him. "Good-bye, Edmund."

When Edmund left, Penthesilea thought deeply about their short conversation. _Why didn't I defend Aslan when Peter said those things? Have I lost faith…? It cannot be. I, of all people, should be the one who is most loyal to Aslan. How can I possibly doubt Aslan's wisdom? Edmund has reminded me that I am still needed, but without Aslan's help, how many Narnians will die and suffer?_

She remembered when the great lion had told her, "Things never happen the same way twice."

Aslan won't find the battle. Someone must bring him to it.

**A/N: Reviews are welcome and appreciated. Favorite if you liked it and stay tuned for some the next chapters. Bye!**


	7. Chapter 7: Night Raid

Chapter 7

A Telmarine soldier looked out from a watch tower and saw the vast forest surrounding Miraz's castle. Seeing nothing unordinary, he decided that it would be an easy night of patrolling. Little did he know what doom would befall on him in mere seconds.

Penthesilea watched the soldier from her perch in a nearby tree. She noticed him leaning against the railing of the tower and closing his eyes. A satisfied smile crept onto the huntress's lips. She nodded at Edmund who stood behind her with a griffin mounted.

Silently, Edmund took off from his hiding place, riding the griffin through the sticky night air. He circled around the watch tower once, and the soldier didn't notice him. On the second time around, the griffin snatched up the soldier, and the Telmarine didn't even have time to cry out before the griffin had sliced his throat with its razor claws.

Edmund jumped down from his mount and watched it fly away with the body of the soldier. He took a deep breath and brought out his electric torch from the satchel he wore. Then he began turning the flashlight on and off, on and off, while pointing it at the forest.

Upon seeing the signal, Peter, Susan, and Caspian took flight on their griffins followed by Penthesilea in the form of an eagle.

A few other soldiers were patrolling the courtyard. As his griffin flew low, Caspian swung his sword and killed one of guards.

Elsewhere, a Telmarine archer noticed Edmund's signals and grew suspicious. He aimed his crossbow at Edmund's watch tower.

Penthesilea flew down and raked the archer's face with her talons before swatting him to the ground to knock him out. Then, the huntress continued to follow Susan, Peter, and Caspian as they landed in the courtyard which was now empty except for a few bodies of Telmarine guards.

Penthesilea took her true form. The four regained their posture and proceeded to finding a way inside the castle.

Meanwhile, a Minotaur wandered around the castle quietly. A Telmarine soldier noticed the creature and drew his sword, ready to fight it off. Before he could swing his weapon, the Minotaur turned around and made a gesture to be quiet. "Shhhhh…"

The soldier stared.

Nikabrik snuck up behind the soldier and knocked him out.

At the entrance, Reepicheep and his mice easily squeezed between the bars of the gate and entered the castle from underground. Reepicheep turned a corner and saw a cat sleeping soundly on a fancy cushion. The mouse drew his sword and smiled deviously.

Outside, Peter and Caspian hugged the wall of the castle as they climbed their way down to an open window. They were followed closely by Susan and Penthesilea.

"Professor?" Caspian whispered loudly as he stepped into Cornelius' study.

The four let themselves into the old professor's room and looked around. Dust covered the books while the quill looked like it hadn't been used in a long time. Caspian noticed Cornelius' glasses on a nearby desk and picked them up. "I have to find him," he told his companions.

"We don't have time," Penthesilea argued. "Why didn't you mention this before we came? It's too late. We have to get to the gatehouse, _now._"

"You wouldn't even be here without him and neither would I!" Caspian countered, a bit of anger in his voice.

Penthesilea's cheeks puffed a little to show her irritation. "Fine. You go straight to Cornelius and then to the gatehouse. We'll take Miraz," she turned to Susan and Peter.

Then they went their separate ways.

Meanwhile, a soldier walked around the castle and noticed the cat tied up with ropes. He looked around suspiciously.

Reepicheep then dropped down from the ceiling, hanging upside down with his tail. When the soldier turned to stare at him, Reepicheep sighed. "Yes, I'm a mouse." He hit the soldier with his sword and knocked him down.

The other mice came out from hiding and worked together to open a door.

Trumpkin was waiting behind the door. He shot another soldier who was trying to sneak up behind the mice. Reepicheep looked up at the dwarf. "We were expecting someone, you know, taller."

Trumpkin didn't even crack a smile. "You're one to talk," he replied in monotone.

Reepicheep raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be irony?"

Somewhere in the dungeons, Caspian slammed open the door to his professor's cell and saw the old man chained to the floor, sleeping. The prince quickly shook him awake. "Five more minutes?" he asked when the professor opened his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Cornelius demanded, his voice raspy from disuse. "I didn't help you escape just so you could get captured. You have to leave before Miraz learns of you!"

"He'll learn soon enough," Caspian said as he began unlocking the chains that held his tutor. "We're giving him your cell."

"Don't underestimate Miraz the way your father did," Cornelius said grimly. His chains were gone now, and he took his glasses from Caspian.

Caspian stopped for a moment, "What are you talking about?"

The professor realized that he had said too much. "I'm sorry."

Caspian suddenly processed what it meant. He rushed out of the cell toward Miraz's chamber, leaving Cornelius behind.

Miraz's room was faintly lit by a candle and the moonlight. Caspian quietly entered and drew his sword.

Miraz woke when he felt the cold edge of a blade touch his neck. He opened his eyes and saw a very angry Caspian pointing his sword at him. Smiling slyly, Miraz said, "Thank goodness you're safe."

"Get up," Caspian ordered, not taking his sword away from his uncle's throat.

Miraz slowly did as he was told, looking perfectly calm. Prunaprismia sat up in bed and saw her husband and nephew. "Caspian?" she asked in disbelief.

"Stay where you are," Caspian said. His voice shook from rage.

"What are you doing?"

"I think it should be obvious, dear," Miraz answered quietly. He turned to Caspian and raised an eyebrow at him. "You know, some might consider this inappropriate behavior."

Caspian didn't waver or let his guard down. "That doesn't seem to have stopped you."

Miraz smirked. "But you're not like me, are you? It's sad… The first time you show any backbone, and it's such a waste."

While this was happening, Prunaprismia had resourcefully grabbed a crossbow that hung on the wall and aimed it at Caspian threateningly. "Put the sword down, Caspian," she said with a feeble voice. One could tell that she was afraid to shoot. "I don't want to do this."

"Neither do we!" Penthesilea stormed into the room with Susan and Peter behind her. Peter drew his sword while Penthesilea and Susan aimed their arrows at Prunaprismia.

There was an awkward silence as Prunaprismia aimed her crossbow at Caspian, then at Penthesilea, then Susan, trying to decide who is more dangerous.

Miraz sighed, "This used to be a private room."

"Caspian, what are you doing?" Peter shouted. "You're supposed to be at the gate house!"

Caspian gritted his teeth. "No! Tonight, for once, I want the truth." He turned to Miraz and growled, "Did you kill my father?"

"Now we get to it," Miraz said, completely at ease even with Caspian's sword pointed at his neck.

Prunaprismia frowned and lowered the crossbow a little. "You told me your brother died in his sleep."

"That was more or less true," Miraz replied thoughtfully.

Caspian was getting impatient. He took a few steps toward his uncle with sword still drawn, and Miraz was forced to step back against the window. "Did you kill my father?" he repeated.

"Caspian, this won't make things better," Susan warned.

Caspian ignored Susan and continued to wait for an answer.

"We Telmarines would have nothing had we not taken it." Miraz said to his nephew. "Your father knew that as well as anyone."

Prunaprismia stared at her husband in horror. "How could you?"

"For the same reason you will pull that trigger!" Miraz begin walking forward, forcing Caspian to take a step back. "For our son! You must choose," he said without taking his eyes off of Caspian. "Do you want our child to be king or do you want him to be like Caspian here? _Fatherless!_"

"No!" Before anyone could react, Prunaprismia pulled the trigger and an arrow pierced Caspian's arm. The prince fell to the ground, and Miraz escaped through a secret passageway, leaving his wife behind with the enemy.

Meanwhile, Edmund was absentmindedly messing with his torch, waiting for Peter to tell him to give the signal. Of course, he carelessly dropped it. Edmund gasped as his torch fell through the air and landed on another tower below.

A Telmarine soldier was patrolling and noticed the strange object lying on the ground. He hesitantly picked it up to examine it. Finding a power switch, he accidentally turned the flashlight on.

The bright light shown in the sky, and the Narnian army noticed it from their post in the woods. "What's that supposed to mean?" Nikabrik asked himself when he saw the misleading signal.

Edmund, knowing that the light would confuse his allies, jumped down onto the soldier to try and get his torch back.

At the same time, bells and alarms began to sound, waking up the Telmarine troops sleeping in the castle.

Penthesilea, Susan, Peter and Caspian ran through the halls of the castle and arrived back at the courtyard where the gate was. Caspian had recovered from the arrow wound miraculously.

"Now, Ed! Signal the troops!" Peter shouted to Edmund who was struggling with the Telmarine soldier.

"I'm a little busy right now, Pete!" Edmund had dropped his sword and used the torch to hit the soldier instead. He knocked the soldier from the tower and then proceeded to try and turn the torch back on. The flashlight flickered a little and went out.

Below, Peter was turning the wheel to open the gate for his troops.

"Peter, it's too late!" Susan reasoned. "We have to call it off while we still can."

Penthesilea glowered at Caspian. "Perhaps if someone hadn't gone dilly-dallying in Miraz's chamber, we'd be alright." She grabbed the wheel and tried to help Peter open the gate.

"No! I can still do this! Help me!" Peter shouted to Susan and Caspian who were just standing there.

"Just who exactly are you doing this for, Peter?" Susan asked angrily as she and Caspian began turning the wheel too. They kept opening the gate as quickly as they could.

Up in the tower, Edmund was shaking his electric torch in frustration, trying to get it to work again.

In the castle, Trumpkin and the mice began lowering the drawbridge.

In the woods, Glenstorm and the other Narnians grew restless. They had not seen the signal yet, and therefore could not attack.

Back at Edmund's tower, the torch finally turned back on, and Edmund flashed it into the night sky with that same on-off-on-off signal.

Glenstorm noticed the signal. He reared on his back legs and shouted a battle cry. The Narnians charged forward, with Glenstorm leading them. A Minotaur used his horns to bash through the first gate, and the Narnian army plowed across the drawbridge. They surged past Peter and Susan as they entered the courtyard of Miraz's castle.

Peter and Caspian drew their swords, Susan notched an arrow, and Penthesilea unsheathed her knives. "For Narnia!" They charged into the battle.

Edmund watched the battle from his tower, wishing he could do something. But Penthesilea had strictly ordered him to not leave his post no matter what.

Below, Telmarine archers began lining up along the perimeter of the courtyard. One soldier aimed his crossbow at Peter whose back was turned.

Edmund saw this and made a split-second decision to save Peter and face Penthesilea's wrath later. He jumped down from his tower for the second time that night and knocked the soldier away before he could shoot Peter.

Peter looked up to see Edmund standing on the archer's balcony with at least a dozen Telmarines. "Ed!"

Edmund turned around and saw that he was in trouble.

The nearest archer aimed at Edmund.

Edmund did the logical thing; he ran. He sprinted along the platform and threw himself into a doorway leading back into the castle. Just as the archers shot, Edmund kicked the door closed, and the arrows pierced the wood instead of him.

Back in the courtyard, Peter and Tyrus the big, buff satyr began fighting their way to a tall balcony where Miraz was standing, speculating the battle below. Tyrus jumped up to the balcony, catching Miraz by surprise, and raised his weapon.

Glozelle and his soldiers stormed onto the balcony just in time. The general shot Tyrus in the soldier with a crossbow.

Tyrus winced in pain but did not let go of the railing.

Miraz smirked cruelly and took his time while walking over to the satyr. He looked down at the creature and simply pushed.

Peter watched Tyrus tumble down the balcony and hit the ground hard.

"Get that gate closed," Miraz was saying to Glozelle.

The gate, and the Narnians' only way out of the castle, began closing slowly.

Asterius, the Minotaur, sprinted to the gate and wedged himself under the heavy metal door, holding it open for his fellow Narnians to escape.

"Fall back! Retreat!" Peter began running around telling his allies to withdraw from the battle.

As Glenstorm galloped through the gate, he swung Susan onto his back.

"Caspian!" Susan shouted to Peter.

"I'll find him!" Peter replied as he killed another Telmarine soldier.

Penthesilea thought fast. She transformed into a cheetah, the fastest of all land animals, and carried three injured dwarves on her back through the gate to safety. Then she sprinted back into the courtyard to help more of her allies who were hurt and couldn't run.

As Asterius lifted the gate higher, more Narnians fled through it.

The Telmarines shot at the Minotaur, but most of the arrows missed.

Meanwhile, Edmund ran up a long spiral staircase and arrived at the tower he had originally stood on to give the signal. Still being pursued by enemies, he shut the door and used his torch to lock it. Edmund looked over the edge of the tower and saw that it was a really long fall down and the griffin was nowhere to be seen.

The Telmarines finally rammed their way through the door, breaking the electric torch.

Edmund spun around to face the armed soldiers, pressing his back against the railing of the tower. Then he let himself fall.

The soldiers' eyes widened in shock. They scrambled to the edge of the tower hoping to see Edmund's body.

A griffin shot past them, carrying said person on its back.

The Telmarines tried to shoot the griffin, but Edmund steered his mount away from the tower.

Down in the courtyard, Caspian and Cornelius emerged from the stable house, riding horses. Caspian was holding the reins of an extra horse for Peter.

After kicking a Telmarine out of the way, Peter jumped onto the horse and galloped toward the gate that was slowly closing.

Asterius had been shot in the chest and was slowly losing his grip on the gate.

Penthesilea had made dozens of trips back into the castle and managed to save numerous allies, but a lot more were still in the castle.

The drawbridge began to close as well.

Peter rode past her. "Penthesilea! C'mon!"

At that moment Asterius collapsed, and the gate dropped down, trapping the remaining Narnians inside Miraz's castle.

Penthesilea dashed through the gate and barely made it out as the door closed with a loud metallic crash. She looked back at the Narnians as they were mowed down by a volley of arrows from the Telmarine side of the gate.

Peter's horse scarcely landed on the other side of the drawbridge as it closed.

Penthesilea leapt over the gap as well. She glanced back, and one of the Narnians nodded at her. At this point, the huntress was glad that she was still taking the form of an animal. At least with the body of a cheetah, no one would see her cry as she followed the rest of the army back to Aslan's How.

* * *

**A/N: There, I'm done with it! As always, thank you for reading to the end. This battle is really heartbreaking isn't it? Leave a review! Do it. NOW.**

**What? Penthesilea is crying? Oh, dear Aslan, the world is ending! Yes, viewers, Penthesilea actually has tear glands.**


End file.
